Suspects sought in Medford home burglaries

Wednesday

Apr 3, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 3, 2013 at 2:45 AM

Medford police believe two men embarked on an overnight burglary spree in east Medford Monday — breaking into several occupied houses, stealing thousands of dollars worth of property and crashing a stolen car.

By RYAN PFEIL

Medford police believe two men embarked on an overnight burglary spree in east Medford Monday — breaking into several occupied houses, stealing thousands of dollars worth of property and crashing a stolen car.

Police said jewelry, cameras, a wallet, a Sony PlayStation 3 and other miscellaneous items totaling $2,000 were taken sometime between the late-night hours of March 31 and the morning of April 1 in the 4700 block of Cloudcrest Drive.

The homeowners, who were sleeping when the burglary occurred, found a garage window had been opened and a screen had been removed.

Police believe the crime is linked to two other home burglaries that occurred the same night in the 6000 and 6300 blocks of Hillcrest Road.

The two suspects are described as white males in their mid 20s with scruffy facial hair. One is believed to have large gauges in his earlobes. The men appeared to have been wearing dark-colored jeans and sweatshirts, according to a witness who awoke to find his Hillcrest Road home being robbed and chased the suspects off with an iron fire poker.

The second Hillcrest burglary also appears to have been stopped by the homeowner, who confronted the suspects in his garage. The duo took money, two cameras and keys from a vehicle parked inside the garage before fleeing.

"These burglars were acting very reckless," said Medford police Lt. Mike Budreau. "They should consider themselves very lucky that they were able to get away."

Authorities have determined the vehicle was stolen from the 100 block of South Barneburg Road the same night. In addition, two other break-ins were reported — in the 500 block of Sterling Point Drive and the 200 block of Dunthorpe Drive.

"We actually believe it was the suspects trying to steal a car to get out of the area," Budreau said.

Burglaries of occupied houses are rare, Budreau said, but homeowners and renters should make sure all doors and windows are locked and secured. Police also recommended looking into additional security measures, such as increased lighting, video cameras and alarm systems. Any suspicious behavior should be reported to police.

"The more secure you can make your home, the more likely the suspect will not even bother with it at all," Budreau said.